Software engineer Stephanie Carson discovered a large breast tumor that had already spread to her lungs; that diagnosis in 2003 was a huge shock.
"I was so clueless," she said. "I was just 29 and that was the last thing on my mind."
Carson, who lives near St. Louis, had a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and other treatments and she frequently has to try new drugs to keep the cancer at bay.
Because most breast cancer is diagnosed in early stages, there's a misconception that women are treated, and then get on with their lives, Carson said. She and her husband had to abandon hopes of having children, and she's on medical leave from her job.
"It changed the complete course of my life," she said. "But it's still a good life."
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Online:
JAMA: http://jama.ama-assn.org
CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/index.htm
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